A sporting goods store has donated 58 hotel rooms worth of furniture and electronics to the Salvation Army.
That’s a heck of a lot of sofas, TVs, microwaves, desks, double and single beds, tables and armchairs.
The stuff all comes from the now defunct Bonanza Inn.
The furniture is being donated by the sports store proprietors who are currently renovating the property, said Mary Jane Warshawski, co-owner of Coast Mountain Sports.
“Coast Mountain is donating all the contents of the hotel to the Salvation Army,” said Warshawski.
“Think of all the stuff that was in those hotel rooms, that’s what we’re giving.
“It’s like 20, 30 or 50 pieces of each unit.”
The store has also donated a few items to Kaushee’s Place women’s transition home.
Currently, all the items are being stored on the first floor of the Bonanza Inn, in what used to be a restaurant and a popular watering hole.
The store decided to give the furniture to charity as it wanted to make sure it went to Yukon’s needy.
“We were really pleased that we were able to give it away,” said Warshawski.
“I’m really, really pleased that the Salvation Army is able to pick it up and take it.”
The charity will start trucking the stuff out next week, she added.
The Salvation Army is happy to accept the donation, it’s just not sure where it’s going to put it, said Salvation Army Capt. Robert Sessford.
“Right now I guess my staff is trying to figure out a place to store it; that’s quite a large number of items,” said Sessford.
“We have a really small storage area in the MacDonald area right now, we might have to think about renting some more space,” he said.
Some of the items will be donated to the needy while others will be taken to the Salvation Army’s thrift store on Fourth Avenue, said Sessford.
It will be a while before all of the items are out of the army’s inventory, he said.
“I think it may take us until sometime in the spring before all the items have been distributed or sold.”
The Salvation Army is a very popular spot for Yukon residents, charities, and now businesses to donate used items.
Along with the furniture, the Salvation Army receives clothing items to sell in its thrift stores in order to support its soup kitchen and food bank operations.
Some items in the Salvation Army thrift store don’t sell here so the charity transports many textile items to the Lower Mainland.
Every two months, the Salvation Army ships 136,200 kilograms of clothing and other textiles to sister thrift stores and recycling centres, said Sessford.
“It’s a real going concern, that’s for sure,” he said.
“But, I can’t take all of the credit myself, there’s a lot of people working here that make this all happen. I don’t do it myself.”